Hardships
by reedeem
Summary: Two months after moving to San Francisco, Alex was beginning to adjust to normal life. He should've known not to get too attached. Abducted and held captive for nine months, he's back in London with a guardian he doesn't know how to think of and a new enemy after him. Let's just say things continually get worse from there on out. r&r.
1. Chapter 1

**\- this is rated T but if it ever gets to be, you know, a little more than that just tell me. I have no idea on how to judge these types of things.**

**Tell me if you're interested in more, yeah?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider. I just wish I did.**

* * *

They came for him not long after he arrived in America.

It'd been a routinely boring day, like all of the other ones before it. It was two months after everything had happened and things weren't exactly getting _better_, but they were definitely improving. He'd made a few friends, his life in London not as clear, not as painful.

Everything was going good. Everything was okay.

(He felt that it could be snatched away at any moment.)

It was the end of another long school day and he was leaving the place in a hurry - he didn't really like being there, it was too loud, too hot, and too crowded - and he was happy because he didn't have to wait for Sabina like he usually did. She liked to talk to people and was into just standing around until the majority of the students had already left. But it was the day of the tennis team tryouts and she said that he could go home if he wanted because it was going to take a while.

Outside it was hot - he was beginning to learn that it always seemed to be humid where they lived - and uncomfortable. Despite traveling to numerous places, he'd always went back to London, a place that you usually brought a jacket everywhere you went just in case.

He nodded at a few people he passed when they smiled offhandedly at him and made his way down the stone stairs, going quickly. He cut through the lawns and made his way between the locker rooms and the greenhouse, a shortcut Sabina didn't like to use because you had to climb a fence and with her particular choice in clothing it was close to impossible.

He easily climbed it and jumped at the top, landing in a light crouch on the shifty gravel in the narrow alley. He'd only been this way once before and he'd been with one of Sabina's football friends, a beefy guy that was now currently dating her, only after warning Alex that he better not try any funny business. The guy had been cool about it which had kind of surprised him. Usually people tried to beat him up before they said what they had to say.

He made his way through the small space and looked both ways once he got to the end, feeling distantly paranoid. When there was no one around that he could see, he made his way out and continued his walk. Their house wasn't far from school when you used the shortcut, but when you had to walk all the way around, it took far longer. So when he saw the house not long after he'd exited the alleyway he started in a jog.

No one was home and he couldn't help but feel a big weight on his chest lift, and couldn't bring himself to feel guilty over it. Liz and Edward had been nothing but kind to him and he was greatful that they'd taken him in, he really was, but their behavior had begun to feel too smothering. Their constant watchful eye and their questions about everything that had happened were making him feel resentful in their presence. It was nice to be alone for the first time in a while.

He let himself fall on the couch and felt the days drowsiness catch up with him, he was usually tired after school and he hardly ever fell asleep until late into the night, his insomnia always holding him back. He closed his eyes and felt his breathing begin to deepen. It was seconds before he was asleep.

* * *

It seemed only moments later that he was being woken up by the sound of a creak.

He knew immediately that it wasn't any of the Pleasures'. He knew the way they walked and the sound of each of their footsteps. Sabina always wore sandels and they clacked every time she made a step. Liz had a way of dragging her feet. Edward had heavy foofalls. These footsteps were like dust feathering against the floor with light drops, if it hadn't been for the loose floorboard by the staircase then Alex wouldn't have known until it was probably too late.

Alex carefully rolled over on his stomach and placed a hand on the ground, lifting himself quietly off the couch so that he was on his hands and knees, kneeling on the wooden floor. Butterflies of fear and adrenaline fluttered in his stomach, making him want to vomit.

He heard the pause in the silence of the house, and breathed quietly through his nose, looking for something, anything to use as a makeshift weapon. He knew that this wasn't just some robber, (or he felt that he did because when had anything ever been as simple as that when it came to him?) he wasn't foolish enough to believe that it could be. Robbers were louder than this, not obnoxious, but certainly not so skillfully silent.

He slipped his hands inside his khaki shorts pockets (hands shaking a bit) and bit his lip when he found a long thin wooden stick. A pencil. It would work. He needed to know if it was only just one person or if there were more that he couldn't hear. Alex bent down lower so as not to be seen if they walked in.

And then the lights were flicked on.

Dread weighing down each of his limbs, Alex glanced up... and found himself looking into the eyes of a black clad man. He immediately sprang back but that turned out to not be a good idea when he found himself in the arms of another person. He kicked his leg back into the mans shin and twisted forcefully around when the grip momentarily loosened. The man looked worn, lines etched deep into his forehead, and his eyes were glaring with determination. Alex didn't think, didn't even give it a thought, he brought the pencil up and slammed it into the mans neck, digging it in before yanking it back out.

All of this happened in a matter of seconds and blood was everywhere. Coating his hands and decorating his face, it was beginning to pour on the ground like a gruesome waterfall and Alex pushed the man harshly away and spun to face his other opponent. He ducked when a fist came toward his face and backed up a bit, trying to put some space in between them.

The dark skinned man kept coming, quick and skilled, and Alex was kept on the defensive, dodging punches and darting out of the way of kicks, not getting a chance to retaliate. He soon learned that that had been the plan all along, making him back up with each hit because all of a sudden there were arms wrapped around him again and the dark man was smiling exhaustedly in front of him, hand gripping something silver.

"You're better than I gave you credit for." The man conceded, his smile turning to one of pity. "But not better than me."

He grabbed the side of Alex's face and pulled his hair a little, lifting the thin silver thing. The dark man looked at it, "It's a dart filled with something that'll make you have some good dreams."

He ran his thumb over Alex's brow, "God knows you'll need them."

And then he brought the needle down.

* * *

**Reviews make me happy. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is really short. But... Better than nothing, yeah? Thanks for all those who reviewed and alerted, it totally makes me feel cooler than I actually am.**

**I should've said in the first chapter, but I was planning on making this story a bit darkish so if you're not really in to that... Well. And there's also going to be the occasional swear word, sooo...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider. It would not nearly be as good if I did.**

* * *

When he came around to the land of the living, he found that he was lying comfortably on a wide, luxurious bed. He was so bewildered he just continued to lay there, fingers pressing into the thick blanket that covered his body, and he looked around the room. It was nice, better than nice actually, plain and bone white, every last inch of it. Even the combo chair and desk were made of a white wood. His heart was beating so fast that he thought he might have a heart attack and he had to close his eyes to calm himself.

_I'll get out of here_, he thought, _I'll make it_. _I'll get out_.

It was true. He usually did get out. Hopefully this wasn't an exception.

Slowly, he sat up, testing out his muscles to see if he'd been injured in some way. He found that he hadn't been, though his neck stung from where the guy had shoved the needle in. It wasn't anything that would slow him down.

He threw the blankets aside and stood from the bed, pressing his lips together when he realized that they'd dressed him in different clothes than the ones he'd worn to school. He wore clothes that were like the ones doctors wore, a simple white cloth shirt and scrubs made out of the same material, he pushed aside the feeling of embarrassment and reasoned with himself that modesty wasn't very important at the moment.

He walked to the door and tried the handle, not expecting anything to happen, but being pleasantly surprised (though kind of confused) when the door opened without a sound. He quietly slid out and shut it behind him, walking down the end of the hall that wasn't a dead end. Like his room, the corridor was the same bleached out white. He made his way down the length of it and took a turn when there was nowhere else to go, going deeper into the structure and feeling himself get lost in it.

When he was still wandering around minutes later, he stopped. Frustration weighed down his bones and he felt the impulsive need to break something, he looked down at his hands and realized that they were shaking with the anger he was feeling. The need to cry came to mind and he felt his throat burn when he heard something.

Footsteps. Light and slightly sharp, like the shoes the person was wearing were brand new and hard. He turned around.

A little girl was coming toward him, dressed in the same thing he was wearing with her long black hair hanging over her shoulders in sleek strands. Her dark narrow eyes were trained on the ground and she looked to be just as lost as he was, but knew that she wasn't. Her stride was too purposeful, like she had a place to be, and he felt himself surge forward and grab her arm.

He hadn't expected her to scream as loud as she did. She immediately slapped a hand over her mouth when she saw that he was just another person and not some flesh eating monster (he resisted the urge to slap a hand over her mouth.)

"Where am I?" He asked her when she continued to stand there and stare at him. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, practically spitting in her face. "Can you tell me where I am?"

She flinched away from him and pushed her long hair behind her. "Excuse me?"

"Do you know how to get out of here?"

Her narrow eyes were confused, "Who are you?"

His tone was forceful. "Do you know how to get out of this place?!"

She opened her mouth to speak when a quiet voice interuppted them.

"Alex, sweetheart, did I tell you to leave your room?" He glanced behind the girl and saw a woman standing at the corner of the corridor. She wore black and in the whiteness of the place, it was so startling that he couldn't help but assume that she was someone important. It was too eye demanding. Her black hair was loose and her face was narrow, she was striking, and she looked harmless, but Alex couldn't help but be suspicious... looks were always underestimated and that he knew from personal experience.

The woman looked at the Asian girl and nodded her head in a shooing motion, "Grace. You should be on your way."

Grace looked from one to the other and for a moment she looked into Alex's eyes like she felt sorry for him, but then she was walking past him and he wasn't sure.

He looked back to the woman who hadn't moved and saw that she was studying him.

"I've wanted to meet you for a long time." She said, walking forward. As she came closer he found that she was... oddly blank looking. Like she was only really paying half of her attention to the conversation. "I've heard tons of things about you and... well, you intrigued me."

He said nothing.

"You must be a little rusty. My people said that you were easily taken down in your house. I'd expected more of a fight." Her eyes turned critical. "Though, you did kill one of my men. Made a mess of things."

A pause. "He'd caught me off guard. I hadn't known what to do."

"Which is why I'm allowing it without a punishment." She grabbed his wrist and he couldn't help but wince when she harshly dug her nails into the thin skin. "You should know that I'm not the forgiving type and if anything like that happens again, you won't be in any condition to wander around afterwards."

He stared at her.

"Come with me." She said, not looking at him. "We need to talk."

* * *

**pls review guys. or alert. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews and the follows and stuff, they're like, so encouraging. You have no idea how great it is to me.**

**Goodness, I take awhile to update. Or it feels like I do. This is tragically short and that I apologize for. Its not very good either. Sorry again. I have more of it typed out and at the bottom I'm going to have a kind of vote... Anyways, on with it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider.**

* * *

"We are Orion and I'm Xena. We've been around for decades, it started with my great grandfather and has been passed down to the sons after each passing. My father didn't have a son, so it came to me. I've wanted you since the moment I heard about the things you've done and when I heard that you were involved with Scorpia, I knew that you were the piece to the puzzle I've been trying to complete.

"We deal with many things and this is our headquarters. When I come to trust you I will let you in on where exactly that is, but for now I don't know what to think of you. They say you're dangerous, but I'm not seeing that in you. I want you to be my advisor. I want you to watch over things. I want you to be my partner and I want to trust you."

"I'm fifteen years old - you can have anyone else, why me?"

"Why not you?" She leaned forward and grabbed one of his hands in both of hers, she had long, thin fingers but small palms. Her hands were warm against his coldness. "You're intelligent, you have experience with dealing with situations that would kill another, you are determined. If people knew that we had you, they'd fear us even more, you're famous in this world, Alex. We'd keep you safe and you could have anything you wanted."

He looked at her. He'd have to go along with it, wouldn't he? To get out. "What do I do?"

* * *

_One month later._

Ramone - the dark skinned man who had shoved a needle in his neck - was Xena's most favored spy. He was the one to show him around and took him to each of the wings. Xena was an extremely organized person, and everything was grouped together. Everything was so sophisticated and light, not the darkness and grunginess he'd expected from someone who trafficked humans and drugs and weapons. It all made him feel very uncomfortable.

The thing he most had a problem with was the selling people for sex. He'd seen some of the people and none of them were adults, they ranged from ten to seventeen, both boys and girls, and sometimes he had to watch over them. Some of them even trying to fight him when they realized he was just a young boy, thinking they could get past him and escape. Every night he felt sick to his stomach when he thought about it. He was helping these people, the bad people, he was selling kids just as much as they were.

It was hard to live with himself.

He promised himself that when he got out, he'd tell someone. The cops, the CIA, anyone that could help them. He wouldn't let them suffer like that for the rest of their lives. He couldn't let that happen, not while he knew anything about it.

He wondered about the Pleasures'. He hoped that they were fine, that they were safe. He missed them more than ever and in his short time with Orion he realized that they had found a place in his heart. Even though they'd annoyed him, even though they'd made him feel bitter toward them, he loved them. They were the closest thing to family he'd ever get.

Most of his dreams were about them. And they weren't pleasant either. Sometimes he dreamed that they were dead, that they were being tortured right in front of his eyes. Sometimes they pleaded with him and sometimes they blamed him, nightmares plagued him.

He had to get out of there. He had to. But now wasn't the time. Not yet.

* * *

**Okay, so... I have more of this typed out. The time of Alex with Orion, it needs editing of course, but it's mostly down. I just added the first month in to make it a bit longer and so that you get the idea of how it's going to be. So do you want the times separated or do you want it all at once? It'd be hella long, but I know some people don't like that.**

**Anyways, reviews? Please? They make me so happy. **


End file.
